t; it is only I," said he.

"And what do you want?"

"I came to look for you, and to entreat you to come back with me to
Champdoce."

"Back to Champdoce?" repeated Norbert hoarsely; "no, never!"

"You must, Master Norbert; for your absence now would cause a terrible
scandal. Your place at this critical time is by the bedside of your
father."

"Never! never!" repeated the poor boy; but he yielded passively when
Jean passed his arm through his, and led him away towards the Chateau.
Supported thus by the old man's arm, he crossed the courtyard, and
ascended the staircase; but at his father's door he withdrew his hand,
and struggled to get away.

"I will not; no, no, I cannot," gasped he.

"You must and you shall," returned the old man firmly. "Whatever your
feelings may be, no stain shall rest on the family honor."

These words roused Norbert; he stepped across the room, and dropped on
his knees by the bed, placing his forehead upon his father's icy hand.
He burst into a passion of tears and sobs, and the simple peasants, who
surrounded the couch of the insensible nobleman, breathed a sigh; for,
from his pallid face and burning eyes, they believed he must be mad.
They were not far out in this surmise; but the tears relieved his
over-wrought brain, and with this relief came the sense of intense
suffering. When the physician arrived, he was able to appear before him
merely as a deeply anxious son.

"There is no hope for the Duke, I regret to say," said the medical man,
who felt that it was useless to keep Norbert in suspense. "There is a
feeble chance of saving his life; but even should we succeed in doing
so, his intellect will be irretrievably gone. This is a sad truth, but I
feel it my duty to inform you of it. I will come again to-morrow."

As the doctor left the room, Norbert threw himself into a chair, and
clasped his hands round his head, which throbbed until it seemed as if
it would burst. For more than half an hour he sat motionless, and then
started to his feet with a stifled cry; for he remembered the bottle
into which he had poured the poison, and which had been left on the
table. Had any one drunk from it? What had become of it? The agony of
his mind gave him the necessary strength to descend to the dining-room;
but the bottle was not on the table, nor was it in its customary place
in the cupboard. The unhappy boy was looking for it everywhere, when the
door silently opened, and Jean appeared on the